Reflections of an integral mind and heart on life, love, sex, God, healing, psychotherapy and everything.

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Sunday, November 27, 2011

Reiki: The Best Loved Healing Art

It caught like wild fire in the world, and it’s still
spreading. In just a few decades, this particular type of energy balancing has
become the number one healing art in the West.

The fast-paced, goal-oriented lifestyle of Westerners has
shaped the way Eastern practices have been integrated in everyday life of popular
culture. Spiritual practices have been adapted to fit busy schedules and
adjusted to bring maximum results in minimum time and effort. Yoga has found
its way in fitness centers; completely stripped of its contemplative side, and
of its awareness of Prana, or energy, a flatland version of yoga has turned
into the fitness of biology, completely ignoring the deeper aspects of the
human being. That which in India means “Unity”, seeking to integrate body, mind
and spirit in one harmonious posture, in the West became YogaFit: an intense
one-hour of repetitive postures of the bodies, where minds are blasted with
high-power music, and breath is rarely mentioned.

The Western flatlanders borrowed psycho-active plants,
traditionally ingested under the supervision of experienced shamans with the intention
of finding answers from within the depths of one’s psyche, and turned those plants into hollow entertainment.
Deprived of the deeper meaning to existence that traditional wisdom offers, the
modern human is hungry for more than what the identification with the gross
body can offer. Unaware of an inner light that creates, heals, inspires and
guides one’s soul, mind and body, the meaning-deprived human desperately seeks
external sources of distraction and gratification. And they better act fast, too.

So when Reiki arrived to North American land, it offered
something new: a transmission of inner light that took no more than two days of
training. In just one short weekend, an individual would access their inner
light for their own well-being, as well as for sharing it with others. With no
need for props or substances, the Reiki student would be now enabled to access
an inner light so new to the modern mind, so glowing, healing and transforming,
that it enchanted their soul and captivated their heart.

Reiki – meaning Spiritually
Guided Life Force Energy – is taught in the same spirit as the Buddhist
transmission ceremonies: a master transmits spiritual Presence to the student,
enabling the student to experience expanded states of consciousness, which are
useful in the process of awakening and self-realization. The ultimate goal of Japanese
Buddhist practice is attaining Satori –
enlightenment-, which is the realization of the true nature of Being. In the
process of Reiki transmission, known as attunement,
the Reiki Teaching Master attunes the student’s energy to the vibrations of
this healing energy, opening the student’s Kundalini
chakras, and activating the energy centers in their hands.

The Reiki attunement, often referred to as empowerment, has lasting effects in the
student’s energy field, opening channels of creativity and intuition, often
activating the student’s impulse to evolve. States of consciousness are glimpses
into stages; often, the Reiki student experiences such peak states, that they
then embark on a spiritual quest of turning those blissful glimpses into
permanent stages of being. From aimless living and suffering, the Reiki student
is often graced with the most valuable gift imaginable for humans: a life that
has meaning and purpose.

This is my own personal story, which began when two days of
Reiki transformed me beyond recognition, to the wonder of those who knew me
well. And this is the story of many others I know, and I know of, and it is
easy to understand why the Reiki healing art has conquered the world, and still
continues to do so.